I was noting that the sole reason for playing a game in Cleveland is money. Of course, Ohio Stadium doesn’t work as a venue. But the reason for that is the same: money. Sure it’s turf and the pitch is too narrow. But you also have to rent the place out and wouldn’t get all of the ancillary revenue from playing there. Not to mention, it’s far too large. On that theme, I have my doubts that any match the Crew might play in Cleveland would come close to filling a 67,000 seat stadium. There would be significant erosion among the Crew season ticket holders in attending such a match. I really have a hard time seeing 50-60,000 Clevelanders coming out to watch two MLS clubs play, even if Lionel Messi is one of them. Of course, what it does do is get Crew season ticket holders to pay top shelf prices for a match they may not attend and for which supply may far outpace demand.
They wouldn’t give a damn if a single Crew fan turned up in Cleveland for a Crew v Miami game. Their goal would be to get 60k Messi fans, pure and simple. Are NEO Crew fans really gonna be pumped to pay $500 for a local to them Crew game? Probably not. If they buy a season ticket, are they gonna drive down to Cbus 16 times a season? Probably not, just re-sale to whoever. Instead of getting Aston Villa, get a big EPL team, Bayern or Dortmund, Madrid or Barca, and play that in Cleveland as a friendly (or dare I say, second friendly, one in NEO and one in Cbus).
Sure, I just can't see 60K Messi/MLS fans in Cleveland. The only Inter Miami away match that's pulled in that kind of crowd this season has been in New England, where 65K showed up, about 40K more than their average. 47K showed up in Charlotte. 51K in Vancouver. Nice crowds, but they all built off of their home team's existing fanbase to get to those numbers. No one's pulled a "home" game out of their market and set it down in a city 2.5 hours away. I do think a friendly aganist a top EPL side makes more sense. In the end, it won't affect me personally, either way.
From the same lady bringing you Columbus SC signs a few months ago….I give you: Impossible is an Option
Cleveland would be a bad idea for expansion because a big chunk of the fanbase will just be shifting loyalties from existing MLS teams rather than serving as new eyeballs. Unlike Cincinnati, they actually have a good baseball product and still struggle to sell tickets. A big part of the reason for that is that until this year, it's been leaking population dramatically (another big strike against it). On the business side of the equation, I'm not sure who would step up to pay the $500 million expansion fee. The Haslams already own the Crew. Dan Gilbert wants his team to be in Detroit. The Dolan family are despised in Cleveland for their cheapness. Who does that leave? Plus it's not displacing an existing USL team which seems to be Don's focus for achieving domestic soccer hegemony. I just don't see it since the expansion fee will be approaching $1 billion after higher priority markets like Vegas, Phoenix and Detroit get added and a new stadium will be required (Jimmy isn't going to share his). It would require an out-of-town owner, likely a tech billionaire or hedge fund, and those owners almost always end up being somewhere between below average and disaster. See: David Tepper with the Panthers and Charlotte FC, Tom Gores with the Pistons, Steve Cohen with the Mets, and Mat Ishbia with the Suns.
SKC played their Inter-Miami match at Arrowhead, I believe it sold out. (Not making the equivalent of the Crew playing in Cleveland, just noting you left that one off of your list).
Yeah. Agreed. I would prefer a regular-priced Crew game in Cleveland. So much soccer exists up here in NE Ohio.
Great post. I wonder if Nordecke will still be selling tickets next year. Also - Are current STM already opting out?
I've seen some hand-wringng on social media, though in my experience most of those who opt to not renew don't feel the need to share that fact on the Internet. Nordecke will imo always have some allotment IF they're willing to accept it. I don't envy the future Nordecke Board volunteers who will need to navigate more dynamic pricing, more inconsistent inventory, and a FO that seems less willing to collaborate. What most concerns me is that the groups hellbent on couping the Board are expecting they'll just be able to step in and start issuing ultimatums to get what they want. This version of the FO will gladly allocate nothing in that scenario.
The potential for us to play a game in Cleveland next year smells like an MLS mandate to me. My guess is they told every MLS that doesn’t already play in a stadium that is expandable to 50k+ to find a stadium to play in when they play Miami. For as much as people want it to be in The Shoe, it’s a non-starter. I’m fairly certain the field would be even more narrow than NYCFC’s, and it’s artificial turf which presents a greater potential for certain players to sit out. So that leaves Cleveland as the only option. Now, with that said, the FO would still deserve a ton of blame if it were to actually happen even if MLS were the instigator. The backlash would be worse than anything we’ve seen since STC, and rightfully so. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
Didn't we figure out at some point that our home match against Miami was going to occur during an international window? Or am I confusing that with the away meeting?
On the drive down to Columbus, my crew and pops were discussing the possible Messi game in Cleveland. We received such a shit month/weekday for the Messi game this year. I speculated that perhaps Crew would receive a more favorable date if the game were to be hosted at a bigger stadium. Again my own speculation with absolutely nothing rooted in any sort of know info not fact.
I just got a surprise hand-written card in the mail from my rep thanking me for being part of the Crew family and reminding me that renewals are coming soon. If they're doing these for everyone, their wrists might be a bit sore. Interestingly enough, I renewed last week.
My rep is Alex Zaage. Got the hand-written note last week. Alex is "hands down" (pun intended) the best season-ticket rep I have ever had, Crew or otherwise. I wrote Alex's manager last season to let the Crew know how responsive he is. In contrast, my Blue Jackets rep was so lazy and apathetic, it was a contributing factor to not renewing this year.